Social and economic development of underdeveloped & developing countries bringing about an equitable growth eradicating the poverty, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy and providing the poor better livelihood options...

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Clearly,
it would be neither feasible nor necessary for all ministries to meet the 16 /
8 per cent benchmark for SCSP /TSP. But if the ministries make serious efforts
along these lines, the combined Plan allocations reported for all ministries is
quite likely to be higher than the benchmarks - if not in the first year itself, then over a span of a few
years

Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes
(STs) have been among the most disadvantaged sections of our society due to
their socio-economic exploitation and isolation over a long period of time.
They lag behind the rest of the population in terms of both human development
as well as economic indicators. Table 1 reflects the marked difference
in the social and economic indicators of SCs and STs as compared to other
social groups. The 12th Five Year Plan noted that the incidence of poverty is
most pronounced among the SCs and the STs across all social groups.

Tribal
Development Both PESA and FRA give powers to
communities that allow them to determine their future destiny. What these laws
also do is to make the state bureaucracy and for that matter elected, mostly
non-tribal, representatives accountable to community institutions. The centre
of power will, therefore, shift and allow tribals control over their own
governance and natural resources that they are dependent upon for their
livelihood. PESA and FRA can create a legitimate political space and democratic
mechanism where equity, justice and participatory democracy are the core

Tribal Development policy from its
inception has always been beset by a contradiction, namely to recognize the uniqueness
of tribal communities (including their governance systems) but yet deliver the
benefits of mainstream development. In practice, the former has, for the most
part been undermined, seemingly to attain the latter. However, even the latter
goal mostly has not been achieved because of the wider priorities of ‘growth’
and ‘development’ for the nation. Over the last two decades since the adoption
of the New Economic Policy in 1991 and the drive to speed up the growth
process, a widening gap between the goals of national development and tribal
development has emerged. The accelerated attempt to exploit natural resources
in the name of economic growth has led to maladministration and misgovernance (‘governance
deficit’) and neglect in terms of infrastructure, development and welfare
(‘development deficit’) in tribal areas. These failures of state policy have
led to the spread of Left Wing Extremism (LWE), pervasive now in 83 districts
of the country.

This is not to say that progressive Constitutional
provisions and laws that empower tribal communities have not been periodically
passed, but rather that, these have been for the most part undermined. From
Article 244 of the Constitution, which led to the establishment of Fifth
Schedule Areas, to legislation such as the Panchayati Raj (Extension to
Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (hereafter PESA), and the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
(hereafter FRA), legal measures have been passed to empower tribal communities
to govern themselves. But invariably these legal measures have to a large
extent remained on paper because of a lack of political will to implement them,
given the economic priorities of growth.

Through various schemes
including Sabla, the government is investing in the health, nutrition and development
needs of adolescent girls to advance their rights to education, health and protection.
This will help them to build a future of gender equality and justice

Adolescence is a phase during which major physical and psychological
changes take place in children, along with changes in their social perceptions
and expectations. Adolescence is also the stage when young people extend their
relationships beyond parents and family and are intensely influenced by their
peers and the outside world. This is the time that they need the maximum
understanding and caring.

There are nearly 1.2 billion adolescents in the world, that is,
those aged between 10 to 19 years.

Studies show that millions of adolescents today do not enjoy
access to quality education, basic sexual and reproductive health care, support
for mental health issues and disability, protection from violence, abuse and exploitation
and forums for active participation.